Although many brands do test on animals or use animal-based ingredients (ie. non-vegan) ingredients, they get around this with some amazing marketing spin. As an self-described spin-doctor for brands myself, I still find this sort of deception repulsive. Here’s some confusing and vague words to watch out for on product packaging:

Animal Friendly: This is baffling, an all-together made up concept. It is reassuring to people at the check-out at Amazon. They are time-poor and rarely have time to assess whether or not any of the product description is true. See below example from a dubious and dodgy brand (that will remain unmentioned) with a logo circa 1996.

A picture of a rabbit on the side of product packaging: This is a meaningless symbol when it’s not actually accompanied by a cruelty free badge of approval. It is illegal to display the cruelty free badge without the required independent checks. When in doubt, check the list here.

Natural Sources: Ingredients from ‘natural sources’ can mean either animal or plant sourced ingredients. If you want to go vegan with your skincare, best to keep away.

Let’s Define What Cruelty Free Means

I’ve already spoken about the importance of free-range eggs before. The term “cruelty-free product” is along the same lines. It’s a product that has not been tested on animals by the manufacturer. It’s important to buy cruelty-free products to support companies that are animal-friendly and to boycott companies that still test on animals.

Cruelty free means that the product that has not been tested on animals, and does not contain any animal ingredients.

3. Read the label for certain ingredients

This is by no means an exhaustive list. The ingredients here are most likely to be animal in origin. Although there is a chance that they are synthetic variations, if you have further questions, ask the retailer. Ingredients list thanks to PETA.

Adrenaline.

Hormone from adrenal glands of hogs, cattle, and sheep. In medicine. Alternatives: synthetics.

Ambergris.
From whale intestines. Used as a fixative in making perfumes and as a flavoring in foods and beverages. Alternatives: synthetic or vegetable fixatives.

Amino Acids.
The building blocks of protein in all animals and plants. In cosmetics, vitamins, supplements, shampoos, etc. Alternatives: synthetics, plant sources.

Angora.
Hair from the Angora rabbit or goat. Used in clothing. Alternatives: synthetic fibers.

Arachidonic Acid.
A liquid unsaturated fatty acid that is found in liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals and humans. Generally isolated from animal liver. Used in companion animal food for nutrition and in skin creams and lotions to soothe eczema and rashes. Alternatives: synthetics, aloe vera, tea tree oil, calendula ointment.

Arachidyl Proprionate.
A wax that can be from animal fat. Alternatives: peanut or vegetable oil.

Bone Char.
Animal bone ash. Used in bone china and often to make sugar white. Serves as the charcoal used in aquarium filters. Alternatives: synthetic tribasic calcium phosphate.

Bone Meal.
Crushed or ground animal bones. In some fertilizers. In some vitamins and supplements as a source of calcium. In toothpastes. Alternatives: plant mulch, vegetable compost, dolomite, clay, vegetarian vitamins.Carmine. Cochineal. Carminic Acid.
Red pigment from the crushed female cochineal insect. Reportedly, 70,000 beetles must be killed to produce one pound of this red dye. Used in cosmetics, shampoos, red apple sauce, and other foods (including red lollipops and food coloring). May cause allergic reaction. Alternatives: beet juice (used in powders, rouges, shampoos; no known toxicity), alkanet root (from the root of this herb-like tree; used as a red dye for inks, wines, lip balms, etc.; no known toxicity; can also be combined to make a copper or blue coloring). (See Colors.)

Chitosan.
A fiber derived from crustacean shells. Used as a lipid binder in diet products; hair, oral, and skin-care products; antiperspirants; and deodorants. Alternatives: raspberries, yams, legumes, dried apricots, many other fruits and vegetables.

Cystine.
An amino acid found in urine and horsehair. Used as a nutritional supplement and in emollients. Alternatives: plant sources.

Down.
Goose or duck insulating feathers. From slaughtered or cruelly exploited geese. Used as an insulator in quilts, parkas, sleeping bags, pillows, etc. Alternatives: polyester and synthetic substitutes, kapok (silky fibers from the seeds of some tropical trees) and milkweed seed pod fibers.

Duodenum Substances.
From the digestive tracts of cows and pigs. Added to some vitamin tablets. In some medicines. Alternatives: vegetarian vitamins, synthetics.Elastin.
Protein found in the neck ligaments and aortas of cows. Similar to collagen. Can’t affect the skin’s own elasticity. Alternatives: synthetics, protein from plant tissues.

Emu Oil.
From flightless ratite birds native to Australia and now factory-farmed. Used in cosmetics and creams. Alternatives: vegetable and plant oils.Estrogen. Estradiol.
Female hormones from pregnant mares’ urine. Considered a drug. Can have harmful systemic effects if used by children. Used for reproductive problems and in birth control pills and Premarin, a menopausal drug. In creams, perfumes, and lotions. Has a negligible effect in the creams as a skin restorative; simple vegetable-source emollients are considered better. Alternatives: oral contraceptives and menopausal drugs based on synthetic steroids or phytoestrogens (from plants, especially palm-kernel oil). Menopausal symptoms can also be treated with diet and herbs.

Gelatin. Gel.
Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones in water. From cows and pigs. Used in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics. Used as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings (e.g., Jell-O). In candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, yogurts.

Lipase.
Enzyme from the stomachs and tongue glands of calves, kids, and lambs. Used in cheesemaking and in digestive aids. Alternatives: vegetable enzymes, castor beans.

Musk (Oil).
Dried secretion painfully obtained from musk deer, beaver, muskrat, civet cat, and otter genitals. Wild cats are kept captive in cages in horrible conditions and are whipped around the genitals to produce the scent; beavers are trapped; deer are shot. In perfumes and in food flavorings. Alternatives: labdanum oil (from various rockrose shrubs) and extracts from other plants with a musky scent.

Royal Jelly.
Secretion from the throat glands of worker honeybees. Fed to the larvae in a colony and to all queen larvae. No proven value in cosmetics preparations. Alternatives: aloe vera, comfrey, other plant derivatives.

Sable Brushes.
From the fur of sables (weasel-like mammals). Used to make eye makeup, lipstick, and artists’ brushes. Alternatives: synthetic fibers.Squalene.